The crime shows that most accurately depicted the work of homicide detectives, according to Howard County's violent crimes section detectives, were both centered in Baltimore — "Homicide: Life on the Street," which aired on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and "The Wire," which ran on HBO from 2002 to 2008.
Other programs, the detectives agreed, often give the wrong impression.
"The image that's portrayed, probably because of television, is everything is wrapped up in half-an-hour," Det. Daniel Lenick said. "People don't realize that well after an arrest is made, our work is really just beginning at that point. We will many times spend hours with the crime lab or meet with the state's attorney's office, which compiles their to-do list for us."
Said Det. Donald J. Guevara: "Everyone thinks the crime lab is like 'CSI,' that they have these magical instruments that show you the evidence immediately."
In the July stabbing death in Long Reach of 17-year-old Christian Lendell Hall, for example, evidence sent off for analysis has only recently started coming back.
Police only need probable cause for an arrest, but they work to ensure that prosecutors can prove their cases beyond a reasonable doubt at trial, said Det. Sgt. Justin Baker, the violent crimes section's supervisor. Detectives need to anticipate anything defense attorneys will question.
No case is easy, detectives said. Det. Lt. Brook Donovan, commander of the department's criminal investigation division, said their job is to pull all the pieces together from an investigation and paint the picture of what happened. But solving a case doesn't just come down to the work of the detectives, the crime lab and other police officers.
"We still can't do it without the community and witnesses stepping forward," Det. Dave Chesno said.
"The misconception is 'They'll get the guy. They have what they need,' " Donovan said. "We need the tips. We need their help more often than not."